Treasury

Treasury update

Laura Trott: Today I can inform the House that the Government will accept all of the independent Low Pay Commission’s recommendations for the new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates, which will come into force in April 2024.In April, the Government published their remit to the Low Pay Commission for 2023, asking them to make recommendations for the National Living Wage in line with the Government’s ambitious target and manifesto commitment to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024 and the age threshold lowered to 21 years, provided economic conditions allow.The Low Pay Commission has recommended that:The National Living Wage should increase by 9.8% from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour, with the age threshold lowered from 23 to 21 years old;The rate for 18-20-year-olds should increase by 14.8% from £7.49 to £8.60 an hour; andThe rate for 16 to 17-year-olds and the Apprentice rate should both increase by 21.2% from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.The Low Pay Commission has also recommended that the accommodation offset increases from the current rate of £9.10 to £9.99 from 1 April 2024.By accepting the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations, the Government will meet its target, ending low hourly pay for eligible workers.The new National Living Wage rate of £11.44 will be a record increase and represents an increase of over £1,800 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage. The increases to both National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates are expected to benefit nearly three million workers.These increases are due to come into effect from 1 April 2024, subject to parliamentary approval. The Government intend to lay implementing regulations before Parliament in due course.

Investment update

Gareth Davies: The Chancellor is announcing new measures to drive innovation and to help pension funds and other investors invest in high growth businesses. This includes new vehicles tailored to the needs of pension funds to help them invest the capital unlocked through the Mansion House Compact. The government will provide £250m to support successful bidders under the Long-term Investment for Technology and Science (LIFTS) initiative, subject to contract, and is confirming plans to launch a new Growth Fund within the British Business Bank to give pension funds access to investment opportunities in the UK’s most promising businesses. In addition, the Chancellor is announcing new measures to support innovative businesses to access the finance they need to start and scale up. These include:At least £50m additional funding for the British Business Bank’s successful ‘Future Fund: Breakthrough’ programme – that will provide direct investment to support the UK’s promising pipeline of R&D-intensive firmsA Venture Capital Fellowship scheme to support the next generation of world-leading investors in our renowned VC funds, similar to the successful US Kauffman Fellowship.A £20 million investment to foster more ‘spin-out’ companies that are created using research done in universities.Spin-outs are start-up companies that are created based on intellectual property (IP) generated through a university’s research. The government is announcing the publication of the independent review of spin-outs.[1] The review has been led by two leaders in the field of academia and venture capital – Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and Andrew Williamson, Managing Partner of Cambridge Innovation Capital – and makes a series of recommendations to improve the performance of UK universities at spinning out companies. The recommendations include best practice licensing deal terms (10-25% university equity for life sciences spinouts as per recently published guidance, and 10% or less for less IP-intensive sectors). The Chancellor is accepting all the recommendations and announcing £20 million for a new cross-disciplinary proof-of-concept research fund. This will help prospective founders in our universities demonstrate the commercial potential of their research. The full government response will be published as part of the Autumn Statement. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-university-spin-out-companies

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS England Update

Victoria Atkins: Today, NHS England announced that, following an open and competitive procurement, it has awarded a group led by Palantir Technologies UK, with support from Accenture, PwC, NECS and Carnall Farrar, the contract to provide the new NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP).The NHS manages data in different systems which do not connect effectively or efficiently. Every day, clinicians and other hospital staff spend time on the phone and in meetings, trying to join this information up themselves – to manage their theatre lists, waiting lists and information on patients ready to be discharged. This time could be better spent caring for patients.The FDP is software that will sit across NHS trusts and integrated care systems (ICSs), allowing them to connect data they already hold, such as health records, waiting lists, and theatre and staff rosters, in a safe and secure environment, to better manage patient care. The FDP will support key priorities of the NHS, including recovery of elective care and the improvement of discharge processes to get medically fit patients treated and home quicker.The safety and security of patient data is front and centre of this new system. As happens currently, there will be clear rules and auditability covering who can access this data, what they can see, and what they can do. Only authorised users will be granted access to data for approved purposes, for example, NHS staff and those supporting them, such as administrators, bed managers or care coordinators, and staff in social care supporting the move from hospital care. The provider of the software will not hold or have access to NHS data for any purpose, other than as directed by the NHS; they will not control the data in the platform, nor will they be permitted to access, use or share it for their own purposes. The contract makes strict stipulations about confidentiality. No new data will be collected, and GP data will not be part of the national platform.In addition, NHS England has also awarded a contract to a separate provider IQVIA, for Privacy Enhancing Technology, as an additional safeguard to enhance the security of data used in the FDP. The FDP will not go live at trusts or ICSs until this Privacy Enhancing Technology is in place.Across England, 26 trusts have been piloting what the FDP will provide. Clinicians have described the results as “game-changing”. It has helped them to better organise their clinics and waiting lists by integrating and consolidating data from different hospital systems or by creating a single list of information used by everyone working in health and care on discharge of patients from hospital. Patients in these vanguard trusts have seen falls in waiting times, discharge delays reduce, and diagnoses speed up. Theatre utilisation has increased by more than 6%, meaning an average of 120 additional patients are being treated at each trust, per month. A new discharge tool has allowed one trust to reduce unnecessary days in hospital for long-stayers by 36% and halve the number of patients occupying a hospital bed for 21 days or more, compared with the England average.It is these real benefits an FDP will bring for patients and clinicians that have seen the Chief Executives of all 42 Integrated Care Boards sign up to an open statement of support for the procurement.Every hospital and Integrated Care Board will have their own version of the platform which can connect and collaborate with other data platforms as a ‘federation’. In the first contract year, investment is expected to be at least £25.6 million and over the total contractual period of seven years, there will be up to £330 million investment in the Federated Data Platform and associated services. Learning about how to make the rollout to trusts as efficient as possible will be built in over time to reduce costs.Additional funding has been set aside for other organisations to bid in separate, future procurements to build new products onto the platform that are interoperable and provide the opportunity for the NHS to benefit from new innovations from a range of suppliers. This makes it easier for health and care organisations to work together, compare data, analyse it at different geographic, demographic and organisational levels and share and spread new effective digital solutions.The contract will benefit not only users of the NHS - it will see investment in UK-based data industry: the contract includes the creation by the supplier of a hub in the North West. Data will not leave the UK.Contract award for the FDP is the first stage of the process. An advisory group made up of expert health and care stakeholders, as well as patients and regional system representatives will help to shape how the FDP is implemented. NHS England has already carried out engagement on the FDP requirements, including with patient and professional representative bodies. Ongoing public engagement is planned throughout the period of the contract, including as part of a recently announced circa. £2 million national programme of engagement on the use of health data.Further information on the FDP can be found on NHS England’s webpages at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/digitaltechnology/digitising-connecting-and-transforming-health-and-care/fdp-faqs/

Department for Business and Trade

Republic of Korea Trade Negotiations Update: Launch of Negotiations

Greg Hands: Today the Department for Business and Trade will launch negotiations for an upgraded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Republic of Korea (RoK), with the first round of negotiations to be held in Seoul in January. In line with the Government’s commitments to transparency and scrutiny, more information on these negotiations will be published and placed in the House Libraries. This will include:The strategic case for an upgraded UK-RoK trade agreement.Our objectives for the negotiations.A scoping assessment, providing a preliminary economic assessment of the potential impact of the agreement.A summary of the responses to the call for input on trade with the RoK, held between December 2022 and February 2023. This took views from consumers, businesses, and other interested stakeholders across the UK on their priorities for upgrading our existing trading relationship with the RoK. The RoK is an important trading partner in the Indo-Pacific region. Our trade relationship with the RoK has grown substantially since 2011, from £7.4 billion to £18.3 billion in 2022. The RoK is now the 13th largest economy in the world and the UK’s 21st largest trading partner. The RoK’s import market is expected to grow by 45% by 2035, and have around 45 million middle class consumers. This projected growth has the potential to drive further demand for world class UK goods and services. This, therefore, is an opportune moment to ensure our trade agreement with RoK is best tailored to the needs of the UK and delivering for our economy.Our existing agreement came into effect in 2021 and enabled trade continuity between the UK and the RoK following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It replicates the provisions outlined in the 2011 EU–RoK FTA. Our current agreement is one of the deepest FTAs that RoK has signed to date and provides a strong platform for UK companies to access the RoK market. As part of securing and future proofing our trading relationship with the RoK, there are opportunities to maximise the number of UK businesses benefiting from this platform. These negotiations provide an opportunity to secure simpler rules of origin which reflect UK industry requirements. Rules which consider existing and future supply chains, and are supported by predictable administrative arrangements will help support the number of UK businesses accessing preferential tariffs. In 2021, around 6,700 UK businesses exported goods to the RoK, of which 85% were Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). An updated FTA could also further support SME trade with the RoK by streamlining existing complex arrangements, simplifying, and digitalising customs procedures and ensuring SMEs can access the wider benefits of a new FTA. Since the current UK-RoK FTA was negotiated, trade policy has advanced in several areas. Perhaps most importantly, the existing agreement lacks comprehensive digital provisions. Both the UK and the RoK have previously negotiated world-class digital trade commitments with other trading partners, and this is an area of great potential for negotiations. Digital trade is rapidly becoming dominant, with 79% of our services trade with the RoK now delivered digitally. As a global services superpower, seizing opportunities in this area is a key part of further enhancing the UK's prosperity. Enhancing the UK–RoK FTA can also support the broader UK-RoK relationship and ensure it continues to thrive in the future, building on the 140 years of diplomatic relations we have enjoyed. Through these negotiations, we can take further steps to bolster our ongoing cooperation in areas such as energy and supply chains to anticipate and mitigate against future economic shocks. In all of our trade negotiations, we will not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards. Protecting the NHS is a fundamental principle of our trade policy; the NHS, the price it pays for medicines and its services are not on the table. The Government will continue to keep Parliament updated as negotiations progress, including close engagement with the relevant Parliamentary Committees

Department for Transport

Motoring Executive Agency Business Plans for 2023-24

Mr Mark Harper: I am pleased to announce the publication of the 2023-24 business plans for the Department for Transport’s Motoring Agencies: the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), and the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA).Each agency’s business plans sets out:1) the key business priorities that each agency will deliver and any significant changes they plan to make to their services, and2) the key performance indicators, by which their performance will be assessed.These plans allow service users and members of the public to understand the agencies’ plans for delivering their key services, progressing their transformation programmes, and managing their finances.The business plans will be available electronically on GOV.UK and copies will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.

Ministry of Justice

Correction to Question 203779 in the 2022-23 session

Mike Freer: In the 2022-2023 parliamentary session, the MoJ responded to a PQ (203779) in relation to the amount of non-cash vouchers awarded to staff as performance related bonuses in the financial years 2022-23 & 2021-22, identified in the department’s workforce management information as members of the core minsters department. For reference, as previously noted in the original answer, the core ministerial department had a total of 7,613 employees as of June 2023. The figure provided for the financial year 2022-23, was inaccurate and an error. This figure was incorrectly calculated, when collating numerous data sources & interrogating them utilising complex excel formula functions. We previously stated:For the Financial Year 2022-23, a total of £425,551 was made to the core ministerial department staff. However, upon recalculation, the accurate figure can be found below:For the Financial Year 2022-23, a total of £684,976 was made to the core ministerial department staff. This does not change the total figure provided for the entire department which remains correct.  I am apologising for this error and clarifying the position in relation to performance related bonuses, provided as non-cash vouchers. For reference, the department takes its responsibility for parliamentary accountability very seriously and has reviewed and amended the process for checking responses to Parliamentary Questions to ensure future accuracy.